Material advancing apparatus



Oct. 18, 1932.

L. L.'WEAVER MATERIAL ADVANCING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 8, 1930 INVENTOR' ByL./ .WAVEH w 1 mnlni I MH U u w w ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 18, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LEO L. WEAVER, OF ROSELLE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COM- PANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK,

N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK MATERIAL ADVANCING APPARATUS Application filed August 8, 1930.

This invention relates to material advancing apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for intermittently advancing strand material.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus of simple construction for advancing material.

One embodiment of the invention contemplates the provision of an apparatus for intermittently advancing strand material, comprising a reciprocable carrier for advancing the strand in such manner that the strand is movable with respect thereto, the carrier having an inertia actuated strand engaging member or brake shoe for controlling the movement of the strand. The member is pivotally supported by the carrier and is counter-weighted so as to be effective, due to its inertia when the carrier is positively stopped, for preventing further movement of the strand with respect to the carrier.

A more complete understanding of the invention will be had from the following detailed'deseription when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an apparatus embodying the features of the invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged front and side elevational views, respectively, of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section similar to Fig.5, showing an alternative form of the invention.

An apparatus embodying the features of the present invention may be employed to particular advantage in conjunction with the apparatus for producing multl-conductor cords disclosed in a copending application of W. T. Barrans and B. K. Ford, Serial No. 438,266, filed March 24:, 1930. Briefly described, this apparatus includes a braiding head of the usual type, by means of which a plurality of conductors drawn from supplies are assembled into a common sheath or covering braided thereover in a well known man- Serial No. 473,887.

ner. A mechanism is provided for intermittently elevating portions of the individual conductors into a chuck above the braiding point wherein they are supported while the braiding operation continues, thereby producing a continuous string of braided multi-conductor cords interconnected by unsheathed portions of the individual conductors.

A portion of the above mentioned conductor elevating mechanism modified in accordance with the present'invention is shown in the accompanying drawing. Referring to Fig. 1, it will be observed that this mechanism comprises a plurality of tubular needles 10, 10 secured at their lower ends to a base member or carrier 11 slidably keyed within a vertical guide tube 12 having a cap 13 attached to the upper end thereof. When employed in conjunction with a braiding mathe braiding head (not shown), the cap 13 thereof being disposed immediately below the converging threads 19. The needles 10 are disposed with their axes parallel to and chine, the tube 12 extends axially through equidistantly spaced from the axis of the braiding head and guide tube 12. Conductors 15, 15 drawn from suitable supply spools (not shown) pass upwardly through the tubular needles 10 from which they emerge through slots 16, 16, near the upper ends of the needles. After emerging from the necdles the conductors pass upwardly through spaced slots 17, 17 in the cap 13 and converge at the upper end of a tapered pin 18 extending upwardly from the cap. At the point where the conductors converge, a covering 1s braided thereover in a well known manner by converging threads 19, 19 drawn from oppositely revolving supply cops (not shown). The conductors with the covering .braider thereover pass upwardly througha cylindrical chuck 20 which may be of any suitable type, the one herein shown being fully illustrated and described in the above identified copending application of W. T.

tently reciprocate the carrier, whereby portions of the conductors are intermittently elevated by the needles 10 past the converging threads 19 and into the chuck 20. The chuck is provided with spaced vertical passages 24, 24 for slidably accommodating the conductor elevating needles 10, as indicated in dotted outline in Fig. 1. The passages 24 communicate throughout their length with a central passage 25 of the chuck through which the braided cord passes. 'Projecting'into the central passage 25 are a plurality of spring pressed conductor gripping fingers 27 one for each conductor 15, and it will be under stood that upon the downward movement of the needles 10 the conductors are looped around the fingers 27 and are thereby held while the needles thereafter continue their downward movement. A spring pressed member 28 pivoted in the lower portion of the chuck and extending into the central passage 25 thereof serves to yieldably press the cord against an opposite wall of the passage, thereby preventing displacement of the cord during the operation of the conductor elevating mechanism.

The structure thusfar described is fully illustrated and described in the copending application above referred to, and although such structure does not in itself constitute a part of the resent invention, it is herein referred to or convenience in illustrating one application of the present invention.

In accordance with the present invention, the needle carrier 11 is formed with a plurality of depending portions 30, 30, one for each needle 10. These depending portions are provided with vertical slots 31, 31 (Fig. 4) in alignment with the tubular needles and of a widthsuificient to loosely accommodate the conductors 15. A semi-circular portion 32 of the inner wall of each slot 31 is in alignment wit-h the inner wall of the associated needle 10. An inertia actuated member 34 is pivotally supported intermediate its ends within the slot 31 of each of the depending portions 30 of the needle carrier 11. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 t0 5, inclusive, the pivoted member 34 is formed with a conductor engaging portion or brake shoe 36 (Fig. 5) which extends upwardly above the pivot pin 35 and is normally held disengaged from the conductor 15 and against a stop pin 38 by a counter-weight portion 39 at the opposite end of the pivoted member.

The operation of the above described apparatus is as follows: When the conductor elevating mechanism is at rest in its lower position and also during its upward movement, the brake shoe portion 36 of the pivoted .member 34 is held disengaged from the conductor by the counter-weight portion 39, thus permitting free relative movement of the conductor with respect tothe elevating mechanism. However, upon positively stopping the conductor elevating mechanism at the end of its upward movement, the inertia of the counter-weight portion 39 tends to continue its movement, thereby forcing the brake shoe portion 36 against the conductor as indicated in dotted outlines in Figs. 1 and 5. The conductor is thus firmly gripped between the brake shoe and the inner wall of the slot 31 thereby preventing the inertia of the conductor from continuing its movement after the conductor elevating mechanism has come to rest. This prevents any overrunning or overfeed of the conductors which might result in objectionable snarling or tangling of the conductor portions within the chuck 20.

Upon starting the downward movement of the conductor elevating mechanism, the inertia of the counter-weight portion 39 tends to resist such movement thereby forcing the brake shoe portion 36 against the conductor in the same manner as described above, whereby the conductors are moved downwardly with the elevating mechanism and are thus pulled taut around the gripping fingers 27. This insures uniformity in the lengths of the unsheathed conductor portions of the cords.

In instances where a predetermined reciprocatory motion of the conductor or other material is desired, the pivoted member 34 may be formed with upwardly and downwardly extending brake shoe portions 41 and 42, respectively, at one end thereof and a counterweight portion 43 at its opposite end, as shown in Fig. 6. lVith this construction, the brake shoe portion 41 prevents the inertia of the strand from continuing its movement after the reciprocable carrier has come to rest at the end of its travel in one direction, while the brake shoe portion 42 operates in a similar manner to prevent further movement of the conductor after the carrier has come to rest at the end of its travel in the opposite direction. A predetermined uniform reciprocatory motion of the conductor is thereby insured.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments thereof herein illustrated and described, but is capable of numerous other applications within the scope of the appended claims.

hat is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for advancing strand material, a reciprocable carrier for intermittently advancing the material, and inertia operated means carried thereby for engaging the material and thereby controlling the amount of material advanced by the carrier.

2. In an apparatus for advancing strand material, a reciprocable carrier for intermittently advancing the material, and a pivoted member carried thereby and responsive to inertia for engaging the material and thereby controlling the amount of material advanced by the carrier.

3. In an apparatus for advancing strand material, a reciprocable carrier for intermittently advancing the material, and inertia aotuated means carried by the carrier for engaging the material and thereby controlling the amount of material advanced by the carrier.

4. In an apparatus for advancing strand material, a reciprocable carrier for intermittently advancing the material, and a pivoted member carried thereby and havin a material engaging portion for contro lling the movement of the material and a portion responsive to the force of inertia through the movement of the carrier for controlling the efi'ectiveness of the strand engaging portion.

5. In an apparatus for advancing strand material, a reciprocable carrier for intermittently advancing the strand and a pivoted member carried thereby, the member having a strand engaging portion for retarding the movement of the strand and a counter-Weight portion responsive to the force of inertia through the movement of the carrier for controlling the eifectiveness of the strand engaging portion.

6. In an apparatus for advancing strands, a reciprocable carrier for intermittently advancing a strand in such manner that the strand is movable with respect to the carrier during a reciprocation of the carrier, and a member pivotally supported by the carrier and responsive to the force of inertia upon stopping the movement of the carrier for preventing further movement of the strand.

7. In an apparatus for advancing strands, a reciprocable carrier for intermittently advancing a strand in such manner that the strand is movable with respect to the carrier, and a member pivotally supported by the carrier for controlling the movement of the strand, the member having a strand engaging portion and a counterweight portion responsive to the force of inertia upon positively stopping the carrier for rendering the strand engaging portion effective to prevent the inertia of the strand from continuing its movement.

8. In an apparatus for advancing strands, a reciprocable carrier for intermittently ad vacing a strand in such manner that the strand is movable With respect to the carrier, and a member pivotally supported by the carrier, the member having a plurality of strand engaging portions and a counter-Weight portion responsive to the force of inertia upon the carrier arriving at the end of its movement in one direction for rendering one of the strand engaging portions efiective for preventing the inertia of the strand from continuing its movement in that direction, and said counter-Weight portion being responsive to the force of inertia upon the car- 

